Adobe grappling with another PDF vulnerability
Adobe again is staring down a zero-day vulnerability in its popular Reader software, according to a new security advisory.According to the alert this week from Security Focus, Adobe Reader contains a JavaScript flaw that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
Versions 9.1 and 8.1.4 are vulnerable, though other builds also may be impacted, the advisory said.
David Lenoe, posting on the Adobe Product Security Incident Response Team blog, said Monday that the company was investigating reports and plans to release an update once it has more information. Adobe spokesman John Christofano declined to comment further.
Earlier this year, Adobe faced the music over another PDF flaw, which was being targeted in active attacks but took the software giant weeks to patch. Some observers criticized the company for the delayed disclosure of the bug and the subsequent slow fix, while others recommended using alternative PDF readers, such as Foxit.
Adobe representatives defended their stance, saying they did not want to reveal too much information to the bad guys. The company advised users to disable JavaScript until it delivered a patch, which was issued in March.
